Canada, Delivery, Fraud/Scam

UPS/FedEx Brokerage Fee – avoid scam (Canada)

582 Comments

Here is the legal way to avoid brokerage fee when importing goods from USA into Canada with courier companies like UPS, or FedEx, without driving hundreds of miles to the port of entry. CBSA officially replied that UPS forces customers to pay outrageous customs brokerage fees illegally.

When you want to order some goods for personal use from US into Canada, you want it to be delivered fast and cheap. It can be orders from eBay, and many other stores across US. Many eBay sellers do not deal with UPS anymore because of outrageous customs brokerage fees. Usually buyers face this fee only at the door, when package is delivered.

It is called C.O.D. (collect on delivery) invoice which includes duties and taxes for imported goods, and UPS customs brokerage fees and other UPS fees like collect on delivery fee, bill integrity fee, taxes on the fees and so on. This C.O.D. bill is usually about 50% of the item’s price! Of course duties and taxes must be paid, but it is usually from 5% to 15% for casual goods (no alcohol, or tobacco, or other goods for which duties applied) depending on the province.

When importers see the invoice to pay extra 50% of the item’s price thay order, some of them just refuse to pay, and item is shipped back to the seller. The sellers do not like this as well as importers, and ship items with more expensive and pretty slow USPS mail service. It goes through Canada Post to the addressee in Canada, and they charge $5 for customs clearance. But USPS delivery can take up to 6 weeks, and theirs delivery cost is higher than for UPS Ground.

Depending on the order’s price, UPS Customs Brokerage Fee varies up to 50%. For example, for the order of $40.01 the brokerage fee is $19.45 + tax, according to the table at UPS website.

If you still want to use advantage of pretty fast, guaranteed, and trackable UPS ground service to ship your imported goods from US into Canada,

You do NOT have to pay UPS brokerage fees!

I’m not advising you to use other courier services, like USPS, or driving hundreds of miles to the port of entry in order to clear items by yourself as UPS forces you to do, otherwise paying brokerage fees.

You do NOT have to be in the port of entry to clear your items!

I’ve ordered some auto parts from California, and UPS forced me to pay brokerage fees. They told that there is absolutely no ways to clear items by myself in local CBSA office other than port of entry. I have spent almost two months to investigate and escalate this issue with UPS and CBSA (Canada Borders Service Agency). Finally I got a call with apologies about the incident and official reply from CBSA which indicates the following:

You are allowed to self clear your personal shipments and pay any duty/taxes owing at an office other than where the goods are being held.

UPS SCS (Ground) was also incorrect to inform you that you had to present yourself at the office where the goods were located.

CBSA also advised me that they are going to inform courier company and CBSA offices to ensure they are aware of the proper procedures.

There are local CBSA (Canada Borders Service Agency) offices in GTA (I’m located in Toronto) where you can pay applicable duties and taxes for imported goods. There is absolutely no need to drive into Windsor or Fort Erie to clear your items. There are also a lot of CBSA offices across Canada, so you most likely may choose one which is pretty close to you.

Here is the way how to avoid UPS brokerage fees:

(Important note: this information is outdated, please see update as of October 17, 2010 below for required list of documents, according to which commercial invoice is not required by CBSA. That list is final and allowed to self clear many shipments successfully)

  • Place your order at US store with UPS delivery option
  • Print out your commercial invoice (PayPal invoice, or e-mail receipt from the store). You may want to make sure that shipper will put the correct price on the package for customs (just send them a note about it)
  • Wait for item to be shipped and get your tracking number
  • Call UPS, give them tracking number and tell that you want to clear your items by yourself in your local CBSA office. They should instruct you what you will need to do

Note: this mechanism can be only applied for Low Value Shipment program (LVS),when order’s price does not exceed $1600 CAD. In case of more expensive goods you will need to present yourself at the port of entry to clear your goods, or find a broker to do this for you.

If for any reason UPS still tells you that you can not clear items by yourself in local CBSA office, and you must go to the port of entry in order to pay duties/taxes – it is illegal! Insist on your rights. Tell that they violate the law. Mention that there is an official reply from CBSA. If you get the refusal from UPS, write down the name of the person you talked to, time, and phone number you called in. Please describe your case to me and I will forward it to the person in CBSA who investigated my case and replied to my inquiry. I’m not posting his contact information here to avoid spam. He advised to contact him if this issue is repeated again.

I believe that it should be applied not only to UPS, but to all other courier services. For example, FedEx brokerage fees must be avoided in the same way.

Updated information as of October 17, 2010.

Canada Customs (CBSA) officially replied and provided procedure of self clearing process which UPS, CBSA offices, and importers should follow:


How to pay duties and taxes for imported goods

…

If you are planning to have future shipments sent to you by courier from outside Canada, you do have the option of refusing the accounting services offered by the company, choosing instead to clear the goods yourself through your local CBSA office. If you choose to do this, you will not incur any brokerage fees. The two options available to you are the following:

1. Prior to receiving your shipment, you can contact the courier company and inform them of your wish to self-clear any shipments that are addressed to you and on which brokerage fees are applicable. The company will explain their procedures to you.

2. As an alternative, when a casual shipment is delivered to you, you can refuse delivery and advise the courier company of your intention to self-clear directly with the CBSA. In this case, please ensure that you take note of the unique shipment identifier number on the package, as the shipment will be returned to the courier’s warehouse.

With both options, you will need to visit your local CBSA office and provide them with specific details, including the courier’s name, the unique shipment identifier number, a description of the goods and their value so that the CBSA can correctly assess the goods. This information is usually indicated on the shipment’s invoice, which will be provided to you by the courier company. When you have paid the applicable duties and/or taxes to the CBSA, you will be given an official receipt indicating that the goods have been accounted for. You will need to present this receipt to the courier’s warehouse where your shipment is stored, in order for the courier to release your shipment to you.

Thank you for contacting the CBSA.

Internet: www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca (http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/)

Canada Border Services Agency

Ottawa, Ontario

K1A 0L8

Government of Canada – Gouvernement du Canada

(Some personal information has been omitted, and CBSA e-mail address also to avoid spam. Some key phrases has been highlighted by editor, not by CBSA)

We may conclude, that in order to self-clear goods in local CBSA office we need following:

The final and proven way of how to avoid UPS brokerage fees:

– Courier’s name: UPS

– Unique shipment identifier number: UPS must provide

– Shipment’s invoice: UPS must provide

– Place where the package is being held

Let’s stop UPS outrageous behavior and lawlessness, and force them to obey the simple law and allow importers to self-clear without paying brokerage fees!

Tell about this procedure to all people who use UPS (or other couriers with high brokerage fees) to import goods from US into Canada! If UPS will hear about it from importers hundreds/thousands times per day, they will definitely start to use new procedure.

The exact procedure of self-clearing with scanned documents is given here:

How to self clear shipment at CBSA and avoid UPS brokerage fee

582 thoughts on “UPS/FedEx Brokerage Fee – avoid scam (Canada)”

  1. Hello Sunnie,

    I have not heard about this before. Do you know what this brokerage fee is related to? For example, in Canada UPS charge it when they pay sales taxes to the Government on the importer’s behalf (i.e. brokerage services).

    As far as I know, there is no sales tax in Oregon, right? So, I think it might be some mistake from UPS side. Maybe call them to figure out?

    Regards,
    Trueler

  2. Hello Trueler,

    I am located in Salem, Oregon and my UPS driver just told me that we have to pay for a brokerage fee ($33.75) for an item shipped from Canada to us. I have worked for the company I am with for 8 years and have never been requested to pay a brokerage fee directly to the driver (we do get packages from Canada often). What do I do in this case for a package from Canada to the USA?

    Thanks,
    Sunnie

  3. Hi Trueler,

    Thank you for all your work investigating how to self-clear a shipment. Having read through all the blogs I was able to learn from everyone’s frustrating experiences and self-cleared my package from UPS without a problem.

    I waited for UPS’s first attempt of delivery, took the sticker off my front door that they left and called UPS to tell them I will pick my item up at the warehouse myself.

    Then I called UPS, selecting option 3, and asked for a copy of the commercial invoice (as instructed from one of your blogs). I DID NOT inform them that I want to self-clear the package. I ensured that they had recorded my email address correctly and received the commercial
    invoice within minutes.

    I proceeded to my local CBSA office with the original sales receipt of item (picture of item was on there, which seemed helpful at CBSA office), the commercial invoice, UPS tracking summary (showing it was being held at UPS warehouse) as well as UPS sticker from my front door
    and my ID. The customs officer asked for the “UPS manifest” which I didn’t have but I showed her the UPS tracking summary as well as the sticker from my door which was sufficient. Within 10 minutes she had all of the above papers stamped and dated and gave me the B15 form and
    I proceeded to pay the GST at the CBSA office. Then I faxed the commercial invoice, original sales receipt and B15 form to the “UPS Rating Department” (506)447-3706 in New Brunswick where they are to make rate adjustments to my package. Make sure to include your UPS tracking # on fax coversheet. Normally this takes 1-5 days to adjust,
    however, another blog I read said he went to collect his package the next day, so I thought I’d try that.

    The next day I took all of the above paperwork to the UPS warehouse including the UPS sticker from my door. The fellow went to retrieve my package and when he was ready to collect the brokerage fees, I handed him all the paperwork. He took it to an international broker in the
    back and a few minutes later said everything looked good. I did ask for all my paperwork back so that I have back-up incase I should have any issues with this at a later date, as I’ve read some of you had surprise bills months later. He scanned my package and sent me on my way.

    I was armed and ready for a big confrontation with CBSA as well as UPS by printing off “how to self-clear” as well as some steps from some blogs of yours, but thanks to all the digging you’ve done and the shared experiences of others, I had everything I needed for a smooth transaction.

    Doing this involved a fair bit of driving and researching but well worth saving approximately $47.00 in brokerage fees this time. Thanks again to you and everyone who has shared their experiences. I’m telling everyone about your website to help save others $$.

    Linda

  4. Thanks Scott for sharing your experience. I’m very glad that this info helps people!

    Regards,
    Trueler

  5. Trueler,
    Just wanted to thank you for the info you’ve provided on this site. On a $100 cellphone bought on E-bay, I called UPS and found that I was facing a COD charge of around $59. I tried to tell them that I wanted to self clear, but they told me that it was impossible because they had already cleared it. So, with the Unique identifier and a copy of the Invoice that UPS provided (separate phone call – didn’t tell them why I wanted it) I went to the CBSA office near the airport (Ottawa) and one of the officers there new exactly what I needed and after paying my $13 tax (no duty on cellphones) I had my B-15 form ready to go.

    A little while after I got home, the UPS guy showed up with my phone and I don’t know if I just got a really good driver, or if they’re being instructed to just accept it, I gave him a copy of the B-15 and after he saw that it was a stamped receipt for the taxes, he handed me my phone.

    Never could have done it without the info you provided.

    Thanks again,

    Scott

  6. Hi Justin,

    You may treat this letter (published in the article) as a full thing and pass it on to the RCMP. Only information related to my particular case has been omitted here.

    Thanks,
    Trueler

  7. Hi Trueler,

    I still haven’t heard back from you regarding my request for a copy of the letter CBSA sent to you. I realize that you posted part of it above the ‘Comments’ section, but I need the full thing in order to pass it on to the RCMP. If you still have a digital copy of it, could you please email it to me so I can do so?

    Thanks,
    Justin

  8. Hi Curtis,

    No, we don’t need presence at the port of entry. Local CBSA office should do this.

    Regards,
    Trueler

  9. In inclusion , do we need our presence at the port of entry ?
    In my case, UPS charged me brokerage fee $40 for used snowboard bindings which I bought from Ebay at only $51 !

  10. Hi Trueler,

    As so many others have already said, I thank you for your efforts on this matter. I am in the process of creating an online petition for delivery to the Canadian Parliament asking them to insist that UPS be straight-forward with customers regarding their options. I have also asked the RCMP to investigate. The emailed response (the RCMP officer forwarded it to me) from UPS to the RCMP investigator stated:

    Dear Cst. XXXXX XXXXXX,

    UPS Customer Service employees are aware that customers are able to declare their own goods, and pay any taxes directly to the CBSA. However, in order for the carrier to release the goods for delivery, they must be physically cleared at a port of entry by a licensed broker, like UPS, or by the importer themselves. If the importer chooses to pay the charges directly to the CBSA, they must physically present themselves at the port of entry.

    In this case, the customer paid the taxes at the local customs office, but was unable to go physically to the port of entry (Vancouver). In order for UPS to release the goods, we had to pay on his behalf to the port of entry. The customer wanted to provide his receipt as proof, however customs requires the importer to present themselves physically, and not via fax.

    Since the importer paid the taxes and UPS paid the taxes, only the importer can claim the overpayment from the CBSC.

    This process can seem very confusing to a first time importer. We have apologized to Mr. Wiltshire and adjusted his invoice as a goodwill gesture. Unfortunately, the adjustment was not completed in full, and it resulted in an outstanding balance in error. This has since been corrected.

    Please contact me if you have any further questions.

    Thank you

    Sigrid Walters
    CSC Manager

    Ph: 506-877-4802
    Atlas: 275-4802
    Fax: 506-877-4915

    These claims are patently false, as you have made abundantly clear. Mr Walters has lied to an investigating RCMP officer. I need proof, though, that he is lying. Are you able to provide me with a copy of the letter CBSA sent to you so that I may submit it to the investigating officer as evidence that CBSA does not require my presence at the port of entry?

    Thanks,

    Justin

  11. Interesting reading. Just letting you know that I was told by a UPS supervisor that I could NOT self clear. That the package was in Fort Erie. That UPS would NOT send the package to Pearson for me at all. And if I wanted to self clear that I have to go to Fort Erie.
    And that was an hour ago.
    After I spoke to Canada Customs and verified this procedure.
    And after i explained it to the supervisor.
    I was told that the Fort Erie office would contact me.
    i hate UPS with a passion for this run around.

  12. UPS Agent Name: Ron
    Phone #: 1-800-PICKUPS phone number (press option 3 to get brokerage services).
    Just told me that I had to go to the port of entry to clear a package. Reporting him to you so you can forward to CBSA.

  13. Hi James,

    CBSA people can verify procedure with Senior Program Advisor for the Courier LVS Program.

    Regards,
    Trueler

  14. Hi Trueler,

    I greatly appreciate the effort that you’re putting into this, and hope that self clearing only gets easier.

    I called and spoke to a CBSA officer through the 800 number this morning, just to check if I could self-clear at the local airport CBSA office. He was less than encouraging. He claimed to be aware of your website, and the info there, but questioned the legitimacy and authority behind the note from CBSA that you posted. His claim was that this was under discussion in Ottawa, and that there wasn’t a ruling that carried authority, so any attempt to self-clear would be left basically to the whim of the CBSA officer that I deal with. He also claimed that CBSA could still demand that I clear where the parcel was physically present, which sounds an awful lot like the UPS lie. I think it might be helpful if you could post a few more specifics with the note from CBSA. Perhaps including the CBSA officer’s ID number or something like that that would allow CBSA people to verify the legitimacy of the note without inviting spam?

    Thanks again,

    James

  15. Hey Trueler,

    Just wanted to say great great job on this whole thing. Not only have you posted something very very useful, but you have also tried replying to every1’s comment, which was not only extremely informative (as a rebuttal and/or insight) but it shows that you really want to help people! Good stuff!

    With that said, if i do run into high fees, i will take these steps BUT

    BUT people need to realize that there are ways to skip this entire process altogether.

    Customs and UPS solely depend on info given by the sender to create these numbers.

    Now obviously you can’t ask big companies with automatied shipping processes this, BUT you can ask individual sellers (eBay sellers for example)…. So, whenever I buy an Item off eBay that is about more than $50 i always MAKE SURE the seller does 3 important things .. (1) send item as GIFT (2) VALUE item @ UNDER $40 and (3) do NOT ATTACH an invoice/reciipt.

    By taking these procautons i have never had to pay any taxes/duties/customs etc. But I have been screed over by large companies that dont do these special requests. BUT thanks to you Trueler, i know how bout to dodge the fees with ur steps if it ever happens.

    SO, with that said, thanks again for the heads up, you’re doing a great job, and i’ll message you if i need you!

    Thanks!

  16. MonsieurCanon,

    It’s often happening that expedited or express is much more expensive than standard. Definitely if it’s the same price, or 5-10 dollars more it’s worth to ship with expedited.

    In my cases expedited was $200-300 more expensive than standard.

    Thanks,
    Trueler

  18. Hi Maureen,

    Thanks for information. Seems like it’s a new thing from FedEx. They used to send late invoices with high brokerage fees. If anyone else experienced the same good experience, please share.

    Thanks,
    Trueler

  19. Hi unhappy,

    Continue to call them until they waive the fee, because it’s just a robbery… they don’t even know what this fee is…

    Regards,
    Trueler

  20. A lot of people are not aware that if you use the expedited or express shipping the UPS customs brokerage is included in the shipping cost. This is from their website: “Enjoy free customs clearance on UPS Express and UPS Expedited shipments.” In most cases you come out ahead even though the shipping costs more. Also, you get the merchandise faster, theoretically (we all know UPS is prone to FU). Of course, you still have to pay any duties and/or taxes owing. A lot of the larger US companies that I deal with won’t offer UPS standard shipping into Canada as an option; I suppose it has proven to be too much of a headache with customers balking at paying the often exorbitant brokerage fees and the items being returned. I think Fedex may be the same, although I don’t often ship with them.

  21. How do I pay anyway? Do I mail them a cheque? I don’t think these are payable at the banks right?

  22. Thanks for all the information posted on this site and in the comments (for both threads).

    I have just ordering a package as a birthday gift where the only shipping option is UPS, so we’ll see how the self-clearing works in Calgary in the next couple weeks.

    fawkes

  23. To Trueler — correction to my last note. The FedEx location I went to was at 215 Lakeshore Blvd. E (NOT Avenue). Thanks!

  24. READ AHEAD – This turns into a Happy Story!! :)
    Many years ago I made a decision NOT to have anything shipped to me from the US to Canada as I too had been violated by unsolicited, aggressive border brokers allowed to charge unreasonable fees for forwarding my taxes to the Canadian Government.

    Recently I broke down and did order something that I could not obtain in any other way. I was very worried until I found your site – so I would like to thank you Trueler for creating a place to discuss how to “avoid” the excessive brokerage fees levied on goods shipped into Canada.

    I was all ready for a “fight” with FedEx and to my great relief it was a fantastic experience. I had missed having the package delivered – so I went to their pick-up site at 215 Lakeshore Avenue in Toronto. I called ahead so I knew the fee would be $23.82 (on a shipment valued at $96.29 CAD & shipping and handling of $24.99) and decided that for the $11.30 broker’s fee it was worth my while not to have to go to Pearson Airport to pay $12.52 in taxes.

    While I was picking up my parcel I commented that it was OK this time but if the next time my shipment was worth more I would consider going to pay my own taxes to avoid paying the broker’s fees. The clerk informed me that I could certainly do my own “self-clearance” and that it was easy – all I had to do was let the vendor know at the shipping end and they would fill in their forms accordingly – and then once it arrived they would inform me and I could go do my own self-clearance. But he said – “Why would you do that if the fee would be the same – $11.30 brokers’ fee for any shipment – regardless of amount. Why would you go through that hassle for $11.30 for any shipment valued at no more than $1,600.00.” I had to agree!

    So it looks to me like FedEx is providing a more than reasonable service and not charging exorbitant fees like UPS is doing. It was a seamless, enjoyable experience. Knowing this I will only use FedEx in the future.

    Additional note: I just called FedEx (to double-check) and was told the same information that the clerk told me and additionally the agent informed me – unsolicited – that if I was a frequent shipper – even if I only ship twice a year – it might be worth my while to get a FedEx account tied to a credit card number and they then would WAIVE ALL BROKERS’ FEES. No kidding! At this point I am over the top impressed with FedEx. If you want to check it out yourself their number (from Canada) is 1-800-463-3339. Happy shipping!!

  25. I had an item shipped through ups, read this thread previously so when ups phoned me to ask about a broker i said i would like to clear it myself. They said no problem, they would email me the forms to take to my local customs office. I asked if there was any time line that I needed to go down to the office and bring in the paperwork and pay the duty, etc., and was told as long as it was within 24 hours there was no problem. I down and did that, got my item shipped, thought it was taken care of.

    Months later, i receive an invoice for “in bond” fee??? Called ups and they told me that it was because there was no broker assigned when the package got to the border there was a fee for that. Was also told that the fee was for the paperwork that had to be done because of this, and that ups takes a hit because of this too, some sort of penalty. Then was told that the fee was for the item having to travel to my local warehouse and be held in bond till it was cleared. I am now awaiting a call back from the ups freight coordinator i originally dealt with for him to “explain the reason for the fee.” 3 different reasons were given to me for this additional fee! What can I do?

  26. Hi Bianca,

    Unfortunately this is how UPS works: total rip-off! Their managers who invented this trick with late invoices must be prosecuted by law!

  27. Well, I received my packages from UPS about a month ago.

    A month later they sent me two letters regarding my brokerage fees…Is this their new way of making customers pay now? You get your package, then they send you your ‘statements’ for your fees? Since I’ve already received my packages, I can’t do the whole self clear now obviously…..

    Sigh, this sucks.

  28. Just wanted to post some info from someone who has worked at UPS.

    Every package that gets a COD is pulled aside and there is a person that slaps a COD tag and bill onto the package. This is done right at the sorting facility at the port of entry which is in Fort Erie, Windsor, etc. The actual paper work and taxes/brokerage fees are prepared ahead of time before the package even enters Canada.

    CBSA would come in and open random packages for inspection. This is not tied into the brokerage process at all. So if UPS tells you that a package has to be sent back to port to clear it they are simply lying.

    Oh and after seeing how UPS handles packages I wouldn’t ship anything with them ever again.

    Occasionally I do ship UPS and used this procedure to clear the packages. Most of the time I am successful but occasionally you would get some moron at CBSA office that doesn’t know the law and would demand that you bring in a UPS manifest even though all the required info is provided on the commercial invoice.

    What I do is call UPS with your tracking number. Use option 3. Then simply request a copy of the commercial invoice. They should email it to you in a zip file right away. DO NOT inform them that you want to clear the package yourself. Most of the time the guy on the phone doesn’t know wtf is going and will try to convince you that it will need to be sent back, can’t be done, etc. Don’t be mad at him, he just doesn’t know any better because he was trained incorrectly to begin with.

    Once you have your commercial invoice, it should have all the required info on it. Waybill number, Shipment ID, etc. Take that to the CBSA office and tell them that you are there to pay duty owed on a package coming into Canada by UPS. Present them with a document along with ID. If they know what the law, they will clear it. If not, ask them to check their procedure and mention the memos listed here. After you pay duty they will give you a B15 form with a stamp on it. You will need to fax that to the UPS fax number which UPS likes to change frequently. Probably to make the process more difficult. I am in Ontario so the number I had to use was a 519 number. With your fax, include a note that you are refusing to use UPS’es brokerage services and clearing the package yourself through CBSA. This is the only time you need to do this because you have it in writing and it goes to the office where they deal with this stuff on daily basis. Those guys will know what to do next.

    From there on it’s a waiting game. UPS will probably try to deliver the package and make you pay COD. Refuse the package first time then call them and ask to hold for pickup.

    After that keep calling UPS and asking if they pulled COD off the package. Don’t explain your reasons to the guy on the phone, they will give you more BS. Just tell them they are suppose to make adjustments on it. I actually ended up going to the UPS warehouse where the package was being held along with a B15 form. The person there ended up calling the brokerage department and they cleared the package on the spot.

  29. $40 items and UPS $25 COD are you kidding. I just purchased $1200 exhaust and $164 cod by UPS. Both items are from the USA. Why isn’t there a lawsuit against UPS ! I’m sure a large law firm could make millions taking UPS to court for this scam.

  30. Hi Maurine,

    CBSA is asking you what you are not able to get from UPS. And this is the Government organization. How is this called?!

    Manifest is not required, CBSA should not ask for this because importer physically can’t get it because UPS does not provide it. Moreover CBSA do not have a right to ask importer for manifest because it violates instructions to self clear outlined in CBSA memoranda and in the reply from CBSA Ottawa which I published in this post.

    Thanks,
    Trueler

  31. Hi Trueler,

    I have order 2 parcels (vitamins) form the US. The first one arrived few days ago. The a value is $194.60. UPS is asking $50.63 Brokerage COD. I’m reluctant to pay this, but I probably will have to. However, I am waiting on the second parcel of a value of $344. And I’m worry on how much UPS is going to charge me. I got my tracking #, invoice & shipping #. My husband went to CBSA here in Calgary. They asked for the manifest or cargo #. I called Jessica at UPS this afternoon at about 3pm at 1800 233-8133 (mandarin) to get the cargo #. First time she gave me an example # because when I went on UPS website it could not retrieve the #. I called again and was able to get another # (8156-0504-00). My husband & I went back to CBSA after work. CBSA said that the 6 last digits are missing. The agent asked to get a copy of the manifest. I will have to call back UPS but I know that they probably will not accept to send me a copy. Could you help with this please. Thanks.

  32. Hi Neff,

    CBSA will most likely not accept taxes from you because you’ve already paid to UPS. However you may try because UPS has not remitted taxes to the Government yet – they do it by the end of the next month after shipment.

    Thanks,
    Trueler

  33. I received a package from US for 21 dollars and UPS Charged me 23.30 as COD. I called them and they told me I could not self clear. So I made the payment and collected my package. But today reading this forum , I realised that UPS misguided me. So now is there any way I can dispute my charges with UPS. REQUESTING HELP, THANKS

  34. Hey barry,

    Yes, Shipment ID on the invoice should be that number. Mine was there as well.

    Thanks,
    Trueler

  35. Unique shipment identifier number- trueler, is this number on the invoice?

    I see something that says Shipmet ID in the upper right hand box .

    Thanks – and again, where can I go in Toronto to clear it?

  37. Hi Trueler,

    I bought two pair of shoes from Spain for my Wedding. The seller use UPS as the shipping comany. I wasn’t at home today, and I got the UPS yellow sticker on my door, and said I need to paid $170 for the brokerage fee. I feel so sad now, how can I avoid the brokerage fee and what kind of information and document I need to do the self clearing? I’m totally broke now due to all the bills for the wedding, I really don’t want to spend more on the brokerage fee. Please help, many many thanks.

    Tina

  38. Hi Stella,

    Yes, you’ve definitely been misinformed by both – UPS and CBSA representatives. I’m not sure that CBSA will accept taxes after you already paid to UPS… When I was doing self-clearance, they asked me.

    Regards,
    Trueler

  39. Hi Trueler

    I’ve just received a package from the U.S. via UPS grounds and paid the outrageous brokerage fee. I’ve contacted UPS to see if I can do the paper work myself and have the brokerage fee refunded. I was told that the driver will have to come pick up the package and I’ll have to go to Windsor(the port of entry) to collect the package myself. I live in Mississauga and apparently the port of entry via grounds is either Windsor or Fort Erie and for air is Hamilton or Pearson. I’ve contacted CBSA and confirmed that I’d have to go to port of entry to pay the tax.

    Have I been misinformed? I’d appreciate any suggestions.

    Thanks so much,
    Stella

  40. Hi Michelle,

    You need to take photo ID and money to pay taxes as well :) You should also know the address of the UPS warehouse where your shipment will be held right before delivery. CBSA may ask this, but they have not asked me when I was there.

    Manifest is not required – this is the information I got from CBSA via e-mail. I advise you to print that reply (it is in this post in “How to pay duties and taxes for imported goods” section) and take with you to the local CBSA office. Officers asked me for the manifest in the beginning, but then carefully read the reply, discussed between each other and processed my tax payment and issued B15. It was in Brampton office near Toronto.

    It is a requirement by CBSA that you can pay taxes at the office only when goods are arrived at the local courier’s warehouse. It means that the package has been successfully released by Canada Customs at the port of entry. You don’t have to wait until it comes to your door, just wait until it reaches your local UPS warehouse. If it comes to your door with a C.O.D. invoice, don’t just say “I refuse it”, because they will send it back. Tell that you are going to dispute C.O.D. charges, so they will keep it in the warehouse. If there won’t be any invoice, just take your package and go to CBSA office to pay taxes. In this case you may call UPS to figure out how much you owe them for this shipment.

    I hope it helps.

    Thanks,
    Trueler

  41. Hi there,

    Many thanks for the help you’re giving to so many! I know it must take a lot of time for you to reply to everyone on here. I feel badly adding to the stack, but I’d sure appreciate your help!

    I have a shipment on its way from the US. I’ve already contacted UPS and received the commercial invoice with the shipping ID on it. Do I need to take anything else with me to the CBSA office? Some people in the comments have talked about manifests, and whether or not it’s possible to obtain one. What should I do about that?

    Secondly, when do I go to the office? Do I keep my eyes glued to the tracking status and run over the day it gets to my city? Can I go before it gets here? Or do I need to actually wait until it’s come to my door and I’ve refused the package?

    Thanks again so much,

    Michelle

  42. This is the less expected thing which could be heard from UPS representative :)

  43. We ordered dishes, total of 700$ roughly. My wife called CBSA, was told You got to go pick it up where UPS tells you to. She called UPS, was told it’s only in Fort Erie you can pick it up. For 70$, I figured it was not too bad to pay the brokerage and just get the dishes. That was last week. Today I called UPS to check the story calmly, and I hit a lady that told me that all I would have needed to do was :
    -get my track number.
    -call UPS, inform them of self-clearance
    -go to local CSBA office: fill out the paper work.
    -Shipment will get to your house once CBSA sned fax to Fort Erie.
    Sounds too god to be true? We’ll know next time we got to deal with all that!
    Thanks for the webpage.

  44. Steve,
    I’ve spent about around 20 minutes in CBSA office(I had to go there twice, so it’s 2×20 min). Once I faxed B15 to UPS they processed it the next business day(the rep told me it takes 1-2 business days) and I went to pick it up the day after.
    I live and work fairly close to the CBSA and UPS warehouse, so I just drove there during lunch time.
    Also the CBSA office on Britannia is open 24/7!

    Here’s the timeline:
    Monday: called and emailed UPS to get commercial invoice. Went to CBSA (at night), but couldn’t clear the package.
    Tuesday: went to CBSA again and cleared the package, faxed B15 to UPS.
    Wednesday: called UPS to confirm that the COD tag is waived
    Thursday: picked up my package.

    What I’m not sure about is whether or not it’s possible to reschedule the delivery once you provide them with B15. UPS rep told me that the driver doesn’t have an authorization to remove the tag. So I decided to pick it up myself(I didn’t want to wait another day or two:)

    cheers,
    Mike

  45. @Steven,

    If you care only about the profit, it is probably better for you to forget about self-clearance and just pay brokerage fee, if you think the hassle will exceed your possible income. It’s a matter of choice :)

    The idea is to use the self-clearance approach as often as possible, and by as many importers as possible, and not paying a penny to those robbers. If a lot of importers will use this, then local CBSA offices and UPS/FedEx/… will understand the rules and will have to follow them without making any obstacles. Any help in achieving this is much appreciated!

    Thanks,
    Trueler

  46. Mike,

    How long did the whole process take? Because the way I see it is if I have to take a whole day off work just to get self clearance done saving the $50 and losing $200 from work just doesn’t make sense. Plus the cost of gas to the customs office….just wondering how long it took as I am considering doing it myself on the next ups shipment im getting.

  48. Follow up on this post: April 27,2011
    I’d like to thank you again, Trueler! Your help is much appreciated! I did save over $60 in brokerage charges($54 for brokerage+taxes), which is about 25% of the shipment cost.
    The process was a bit of a hassle as expected.
    The package arrived with the $92 COD tag ($30 for duties/taxes, the rest – brokerage). I refused it and started to collect the necessary documents.
    I had to go to CBSA office on Britannia Rd twice as one officer was insisting on getting a cargo control document or manifest, although he realized that it’s almost impossible to get it for LVS. So I went back the next day during business hours (first time I went there at 11pm and there were only 3 officers there) and insisted that officer read the reply from CBSA Ottawa. When she asked about the manifest I told her that it’s impossible to get it as low value shipments are submitted to CBSA for clearance(by the carrier) as a huge list of packages. This list get assigned a transaction ID and CBSA officer chooses what packages to inspect. Apparently UPS won’t give out this list to us. She agreed, took my paperwork and prepared the B15 form!:)
    On the other side, UPS was trying to create as many obstacles as they possibly can. Reps told me a few times that my package was shipped back to Windsor(it was at Mississauga warehouse all the time), clerk at the warehouse told me he can’t waive the brokerage charges when I came to pick-up the package. He called the 1800 number to get authorization to waive COD tag, but wasn’t given one(total BS). I then called 1800 myself and passed the phone to the clerk, so that rep on the phone could provide him with this authorization #.
    Not to mention that I’ve been told numerous times that self-clearance isn’t possible as well as that I cannot obtain a commercial invoice or they cannot email it to me and so on.
    To wrap it up:
    1. I still believe that in general CBSA officers aren’t familiar with the self-clearance procedure for CLVS program. So it’s just a matter of whether or not you get lucky that day:)))
    2. Insist on your rights. Use reply from CBSA Ottawa along with the CLVS Memorandum
    3. The Unique shipment identifier number is the transaction ID that appears in your COD invoice (carrier must provide it by law). Although in my case the officer tried to enter it in the system and nothing showed up(?)
    4. As Blair suggested here using the contact form on UPS web-site can save you some nerves and airtime.

    good luck,
    Mike

  49. Anyone else have any experience clearing a Fedex Ground package left without them having charged brokerage fees?

    It’s too bad this site doesn’t let you subscribe to a thread, so that you get a notice by e-mail when new replies are posted.

  50. LVSinfo, can you explain exactly what you do all the time with Fedex when they don’t charge you on delivery? I have a Fedex Ground package on the way. Do I need to call Fedex for additional paperwork before or after delivery? Or do I just make do with the paperwork I get with my shipment? And it is just the case that I need to beat them to the B15 form and fax it to them before they try to charge me?

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